Emmabuntüs: A Friendly Debian Derivative for Older Hardware
There are lots of Linux distros geared toward low-powered hardware. Emmabuntüs is one such distribution that aims to make Linux and computing more accessible to people who otherwise might not get to use computers.
Let’s take a look at Emmabuntüs and see if it’s the right Linux distro for you.
What Is Emmabuntüs?
Emmabuntüsis a Linux distribution focused on educational use. It’s designed to run on older, previously used machines, so hardware requirements are kept low.
The distro is primarily developed for use in France and Africa, hence the language of the official homepage is French, but for English-speaking users, it’s translated via Google.
Emmabuntüs is meant to promote Linux to people who don’t have as much experience with it. The overall goal is to make computers available to people who have little economic means. One goal of the project is to build public computer labs in places like schools in developing countries.
The distro was originally based on Ubuntu, hence the name, but it eventually switched to Debian.
Since Emmabuntüs caters to people who may not have a lot of experience with personal computing overall, much less Linux, the team has made an effort to make Emmabuntüs easy to use and provide a complete array of free and open-source applications.
While 64-bit machines are common these days, Emmabuntüs also has a 32-bit edition available. This is to make it compatible with older machines. The developers say that this is to keep these machines out of landfills.
Installing Emmabuntüs on a PC
Installing Emmabuntüs is similar to installing any other Linux distribution. You download the installation media, extract it to your media of choice, and then boot the computer.
Download:Emmabuntüs
Like many major Linux distros, Emmabuntüs has a live mode available where you can try it out before you commit to installing it on your hard drive. You can take the desktop out for a spin to see how much you like it.
The minimum requirements are an 80GB hard drive and 2GB of RAM.
The installation program is easy to use and menu-driven. It will walk you through the steps of partitioning a hard drive, creating user accounts, installing the OS on the drive, and finally installing a bootloader. All of these are standard steps on any distro.
You can also choose standard graphical and text-based Debian installers from the boot menu.
Once you’re finished, you’ll boot into the Emmabuntüs desktop. You’ll have a menu for additional configuration. While Emmabuntüs strives to include free and open-source software as much as possible, the developers seem to realize that some users may want to compromise when they want to actually use their computer.
To that end, things like proprietary audio and video codecs can be easily installed. On the first run, a menu will prompt you if you want to do so.
The Emmabuntüs Desktop
The default Emmabuntüs desktop is based on Xfce. It will install the searchable Whisker menu, as well as a macOS-like dock.
For very low-powered machines, an alternate LXQt desktop is available. The system adjusts the interface for beginners, experts, and children.
The included range of applications is very complete. The default browser is Firefox, which is common on a lot of Linux distros. GIMP is also installed, which is left out of even the default Ubuntu desktop.
Emmabuntüs seems to take a kitchen sink approach to included apps. There are several options for media playback and editing. VLC and the Kdenlive video editing app are also installed.
True to the project’s educational goals, Emmabuntüs includes a variety of educational software. You can find Tux Math, Tux Paint, and Tux Typing preinstalled.
A whimsical addition is “Potato Guy,” which brings up KTuberling. This is a Linux program similar to the Mr. Potato Head toy, which allows kids to decorate their own anthropomorphic tuber with a variety of facial features, limbs, and wigs.
There are also parental controls available as an optional installation to keep kids away from things that older people may not want them to see.
Gaming is covered too. SuperTux2 is installed, as well as a dominoes game. For commercial games, Steam and GOG games are available. you’re able to install the Steam client, and clicking the GOG icon brings up its website in Firefox.
Virtual desktops are also enabled by default, a feature that is now standard, even on Windows.
The developers have still made more changes to some defaults. The search engine is Lilo (not to be confused with the disk partitioning utility), which funds social projects. The team says on their home page that they did this to improve privacy by not using Google. Users have the option of donating any money they earn through searches to the project as well.
Package Management on Emmabuntüs
Package management is done through the standard APT utilities as well as Flatpak. GNOME Software as well as the Synaptic package manager are installed by default. Like many other modern Linux desktops, there’s a utility to automatically install updates when they become available.
This showsFlatpak’s growing acceptance in the Linux worldfor delivering applications. This is likely because upstream development can be better coordinated and cross-distro behavior with apps like Firefox will be more consistent.
Is Emmabuntüs for You?
If you like low-powered Linux distros, you might enjoy Emmabuntüs. It will also appeal to people who like the macOS interface but don’t want to pay the “Apple tax.”
One drawback is that since the developers’ native language isn’t English, anglophones may find some of the text to be awkwardly translated.
Emmabuntüs might be a good Chromebook alternative, with its focus on used hardware. The pandemic supply chain issues affected the PC industry and made new laptops for remote education hard to come by. If you’ve got old machines lying around, you may put them back into service with this distro.
Reviving older machinesis one of the things that desktop Linux does best. It’s possible to do this with other lightweight Linux distros like Xubuntu.
Those who are more comfortable with Linux may consider installing a stock Debian version with a lightweight window manager or desktop environment by themselves.
The installer will be nowhere near as slick as the one in Emmabuntüs, but the Debian installer is still easy enough to use these days. Plus, it will take time to install the range of applications that come with Emmabuntüs.
Emmabuntüs will appeal to those who have a strong social conscience, fancy slick interfaces, and like complete Linux distros.
Emmabuntüs: A Friendly Debian-Based Linux Distro
Emmabuntüs is a friendly, complete Debian derivative with a slick desktop. It’s a great introduction to Debian distros for those who may not have a whole lot of Linux experience since it’s so easy to install and use. It’s a cost-effective learning platform to revive older machines.
Debian’s stable base and package management system have made it a popular platform for all sorts of derivatives. There are lots of Debian-based distros to explore out there.
Love Debian but want an alternative better suited to your needs? Here’s a list of the best Debian-based Linux distros for you to try.
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